Latch



March 26, 1963 J. EBERLY 3,083,046

I LATCH Filed July 27, 1961 INVENTOR. JOHN H. EBERLY ATTORNEY ilnired States Patent 9 This invention relates generally to latches, and more particularly to a spring latch for use in closure installations wherein a door, cover plate or the like is. to be detachably secured over an inspection or access opening.

One object of this inventionis to provide a spring latch which is made of a continuous, resilient strip .of sheet.

metal fabricated in such a manner. that a strong. holding effect is achieved when the latch is in use. 7

Another object of this invention is to provide acnepiece spring latch which is fabricated todesired shape by.

bending and forming operations, nocutting or slitting of the sheet metal strip being required.

Another object of this inventionis to provide aspring latch which is of relatively narrow depthwhereby. its projection from a supporting object is small.

A further object of this invention is to provide a spring.

latch which has a given resilience at one end and less resilience atan opposite latching end, whereby desired latching characteristics are obtained.

A further object of this invention is to provide aspring latch of the character described wherein elongate coex- I tensive sides of the latch are so interconnected that movement of onesideaway from the other side is restrained,

and movement of a latch element of the structure is in.

the same direction as the extension of the sides of the latch.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a;

spring latch which is less expensive thansimilar: latches. of prior design, yet more positive in. operation and less subject to damage when used.

Other objects of this invention will be apparenthereina after from the specification and recital in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary view of a container having an,

opening provided with a cover, yieldably held in closed position by a latch constructed according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side elevation of the latch;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view of the; latch end of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 are enlarged side elevation views, showing successive positions of' the latch when .the con; tainer cover is moved'frorn opened to a latched position; and

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIGS. 4-6, and showing the latch adjusted to a locking position.

Referring now to the drawings by numerals of reference, and particularly to FIGS. 1-3, 10 denotes a container, housing or the like having a Wall 11 provided with an access opening 12 adapted to be closed by a cover 14. Hinge means 15 is provided to connect one edge of the cover to wall 11. The size of the cover is such that when in closed position, FIG. 1, the end 16 of the cover opposite hinge 15 rests upon the portion 18 of wall 11. Yieldably holding the cover in closed position and operatively engaging the edge 19 of wall portion 18 is a spring latch 20 constructed according to this invention.

Spring latch 21} is fabricated from a continuous strip of sheet metal, of uniform width and thickness from end to end. Twenty gauge metal has been found to be suitable, although other gauges can be employed if desired. The latch is easily bent and formed to the desired configuration and then heat treated so that the part will have the resilience required for proper operation.

ice

2 The latch comprises opposedlinear first and, second ides. .1 a d 2.2, e pect e y, a d en rporti ns 4 an 25'. The first side 21 is provided with speed-nut pressions 26 for self-tappingrscrews 2 8 to connectthe. spring latch to cover 14. A washer plate 29 isprovided. which seats on cover 14 andthrough which the screws 28;

project. The cover '14 has openings 27 for the screws,

said openings being elongate toward. wall portion 18 whereby the spring latch can be adjusted toward or away from edge 19., Such adjustment is providedsothat the] spring latch may beproperly related to the cooperativestructure of the container, and so that the latch may,be.,

used for locking. purposes as shown ingFI G. 7 andsubsequently described.

When in mounted position, first side 21 of the latch, is held firmly against coyer14. Second side 22 projects into the container 11! as shown. The configuration of the latch is such that the inward projection is very small. Adjacent ends of sides 21 and 22 are connected by portion .24 whichis arcuate and curved on a constant and generous radius. The opposite end of side 22- supports 7 end portion 25 which comprises. arcuate sectiOn. 30,; a flat. section 31 andan extension 32. Section.- 30 is I curved one, radius substantially less than the. radius of the end portion 24. A latch shoulder 35 is formed in the,

area wheresectionlafl andflat '31 jointogethen- As best shown inFlG. 2, flat 31 is inclined toward end portion 24 as it extends from thecurved portion 35 toward the extension '32 Extension 32 projects parallel to and out: side of side 21, I

sufficient to provide a space 33 between cover 114 and tab 36 in excess 'of'the thickness of extens on, 32; Tar-h3 6 and extension 32 normally overlap a distance substantially less than their lengths, and] specifically about one-- half their lengths,

When used for yieldable holdingpurposes, spr ng latch 20 operates as shown inFIGS. 4-6. When cover 14, is mov f o a openedltowards a s d po itio ho l:

der 35 isv brought into engagement with edge 19cf por tion 18 ofiwall 111, FIG. 4. Whena downward pressure isappliedL-to the cover, the springlatch is caused toyieldas showninEIG.;5. It will be noted that, the latch, yields in the direction of extension of; the sides. 21, and 2 2. t of he p ns or. y e di g o s. n-. e 11p tion.24.v and-to. a lesser extent atfthe endf Portion 25.1, when the h ld 5'. Pa s s dge vll l he. o er. m ve toward fully closed position, the spring latch returns towards normal position, FIG. 6. The spring back of the latch brings the inclined flat 31 into engagement with edge 19 and these cooperating parts yieldably hold the cover closed, FIG. 1.

In opening cover 14 spring latch 20 operates in reverse to its movements when cover 14 is moved toward closed position. One significant dilference is the cooperation of tab 36 and extension 3 2. When cover 14 is moved towards closed position, extension 32 is pushed against the cover and slides relative thereto. Thus the latch sections remain in proper position relative to each other and the spring of the latch is in the direction of the sides 21 and 22. However, when the cover is opened, the end portion 25 would normally tend to swing away from the cover 14 and pivot about the end portion 24 responsive to engagement of flat 31 and edge 19. However, such pivoting is prevented by the tab 36 engaging and holding extension 32. This holding engagement, while preventing pivoting about end portion 24, leaves the latch portion 25 free to shift longitudinally. Thus, the latch yields in a direction toward and away from edge 19 rather than transverse tent M r 6,. 9.63..

7 When it is desired to use spring latch 20 for locki'n purposes, the screws 28 are loosened and washer plate. 28 is adjusted toward container edge 19.. When so ad justed, FIG. 7, container top wall 18 becomes wedged between cover 14 and extension '32. With the parts so located, an opening force applied to cover 14 merely forces tab 36 against extension 32 and the cover cannot.

be lifted. To release the lock, the spring latch merely has to be adjusted away from the edge '19 and back to its original latching position, wherein edge 19 engages fiat 31. a

The spring latch described can be manufactured at very low cost. Except for the speed-nut impressions 26, no cutting, slitting, or the like is required of the sheet metal workpiece. Only forming and bending operations are involved. When the spring latch is in use, a latching effect is achieved which is greatly superior to similar inexpensive latches of prior design. The locking feature is desirable to be sure that the cover 14 is retained in place at given times, such as when the container 10. is to be shipped from one plice to another. spring latch can be used to provide a yieldable hold.

Thus, the single device provides both a lock and a spring latch.

Although the spring latch has been described as made of sheet metal, it will be apparent that other materials,

such as resilient plastics, could be employed in manufac curing the latch. Further, While this invention has been described in connection with a particular embodiment thereof, it will be understood that it is capable of modification, and this application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptions following, in general, the principles of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which the invention pertains, and as fall within the scope of the invention or the limits of the appended claims. 7

Having thus described my invention what I claim is: 1. A spring latch comprising a continuous, resilient, sheet metal strip having a first side, a'second side" and two end portions, said first side and said second side being elongated, coextensive and spaced relative to each other,

one of said end portions connecting adjacent ends of said sides, the other of said end portions projecting from the opposite end of said second side toward the opposite end i of said first side and having an extension projecting along the outside of said first side, said first side being attachf able to an object to be latched and having a tab at said opposite end ofiset toward said second side and extending 55 Thereafter, the

4 between the second side and said extension, said extension being shiftable relative to said first side in the direction of extension of said sides upon flexing of said strip and said tab being engageable with said extension to restrain said other end portion from moving away from said first side.

2. A spring latch as recited in claim 1 wherein said strip is of generally uniform width and thickness from end to end, said first side having one opening at least for a fastener to attach the latch to the object to be latched.

3. A spring latch as recited in claim 1 wherein said one end portion is arcuate, from said first side to said second side, and curved on a constant radius.

4. A spring latch as recited in claim 3 wherein said other end portion has an arcuate section extending from said second side and a flat connecting such arcuate section and said extension projecting along the outside of said first side.

5. Aspring latch as recited in claim 4 wherein said flat, in extending from said arcuate section of said first end portion toward said other side, is inclined toward said one end portion.

6. A spring latch as recited in claim 4 wherein said 'one end portion is curved on a radius greater than the radius of the arcuate section of said other end portion.

7. A spring latch as recited in claim 1 wherein the length of said tab and the length of said extension are substantially the same, and the tab and extension are normally spaced from each other.

8. A spring latch as recited in claim 7 wherein said extension and tab are coextensive for a portion only of their lengths.

9. A spring latch as recited in claim '1 wherein means is provided for mounting said latch on the object to be latched for adjustment relative thereto in the direction of extension of said sides.

'10. A spring latch comprising a continuous, resilient, sheet metal strip having two elongated coextensive spaced linear generally parallel sides and two end portions, one of said end portions connecting adjacent ends of said sides, the other of said end portions projecting from the opposite end of one of said sides toward the opposite end of the other of said sides and having an extension projecting alongthe outside of the other of said sides and generally parallel thereto, said other of said sides being attachable to an object to be latched and said extension being shiftable relative thereto and in the direction of extension of said sides upon flexing of said strip.

7 References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,642, 16? Moon Sept. 13, 1927 2,185,503 Fryer Jan. 2, 1940 2,334,478 Corson Nov. 16, 1943 

10. A SPRING LATCH COMPRISING A CONTINUOUS, RESILIENT, SHEET METAL STRIP HAVING TWO ELONGATED COEXTENSIVE SPACED LINEAR GENERALLY PARALLEL SIDES AND TWO END PORTIONS, ONE OF SAID END PORTIONS CONNECTING ADJACENT ENDS OF SAID SIDES, THE OTHER OF SAID END PORTIONS PROJECTING FROM THE OPPOSITE END OF ONE OF SAID SIDES TOWARD THE OPPOSITE END OF THE OTHER OF SAID SIDES AND HAVING AN EXTENSION PROJECTING ALONG THE OUTSIDE OF THE OTHER OF SAID SIDES AND GENERALLY PARALLEL THERETO, SAID OTHER OF SAID SIDES BEING ATTACHABLE TO AN OBJECT TO BE LATCHED AND SAID EXTENSION BEING SHIFTABLE RELATIVE THERETO AND IN THE DIRECTION OF EXTENSION OF SAID SIDES UPON FLEXING OF SAID STRIP. 